Oh, photography! How I love thee..

courtesy of theknot.com

Wedding planning is all about compromising and our wedding planning has been no different. I’ve compromised on venue, guest count and budget. The only thing I was not willing to compromise on was our wedding photographer. I allotted for a larger budget for wedding photography because I knew that I wanted the memories. And not just the memories taken from Aunt Sue’s digital camera (that she still hasn’t completely figured out how to use); but the “ohmygosh that was so cute” memories. After the food has been ingested, the cake served and the dances danced, pictures are what will remain to remind us of our first day as a married couple and I wanted to make sure they looked flawless.

So I started my search on photography early. It was actually the second vendor we booked. You would not believe how many talented photographers we have in our great metropolis of Northern California! And I made sure I took in as many different sites and photographers names as I could. I posted facebook status messages looking for recommendations, I asked people at work- everything I could think of to make sure that when I sat down with a photographer that I was prepared to tell him or her what I wanted and did not want. I did not want to rely solely on what the knot suggested I ask a potential photographer.

I know there are adjectives that go with photography (photojournalistic for example), but I will not be bogged down to mere words. Because photography isn’t about words; it’s about capturing the little moments. I wanted to relive my wedding when I looked at my photos. I wanted every photo to tell a story; to have a history. I did not know what style of photography I liked. I just knew there were some photographers whose work made me want to cry and those that were beautiful, but weren’t me.

And so I bookmarked the photographers’ sites that made me tear up and started going through what seemed like the longest lasting task of finding “the one” that I cared about most. Not the dress, but photographer.

What was your one sticking point while wedding planning? Are you a compromising bride? Or a fight for what you want planner?